I’ve visited Dublin many times, in fact all my tours to Ireland begin and end in Dublin City. When I’m leading a tour, I usually arrive a day or two before the group tour, and have a few days to do some exploring on my own to discover new places to eat, see, and experience. I’ve spent years poking around Europe’s nooks and crannies in search of excellent food, good wine, better beer, and sparkling water. I guarantee you’ll experience some outstanding restaurants that serve up amazingly fresh and local dishes on all my tours in Europe. But for this post, I’ll give you some of my best dining picks for Dublin City.
THE OLD STOREHOUSE -3 Crown Alley- Temple Bar https://theoldstorehouse.ie/ I’ve been visiting this popular pub for 10 years now. Manager Robbie and his capable waitresses, waiters, bartenders, and cooks, will make you feel right at home, The food is remarkable and varied. There is a fine selection of starters, mains, and desserts, all of which are sure to please. There is nothing of the notion of bland pub-grub here, everything is fresh and hot right out of their small kitchen. I tasted most of their main courses and must say they are all excellent. My favorites are: Beer Battered Fish and Chips, West of Ireland Seafood Chowder, Steamed-Fresh Connemara Mussels in a cream sauce, Traditional Guinness and Irish Beef Casserole, and Irish Cottage Pie. I hear the desserts are good, but by the time I finish a pint and a meal, I’ve never had room for the sweets.
TOMAHAWK STEAKHOUSE – 2-5 Essex Street East – Temple Bar https://tomahawksteakhouse.ie/ It is pricy, but their dry-aged Delmonico steaks are wonderful. An added bonus is its oyster bar serving fresh oysters from Ireland and Europe.
THE CHOPHOUSE– 2 Shelbourne Road – Ballsbridge – Dublin 4 http://thechophouse.ie/ A bit out from Dublin’s city center, but worth the 30-minute walk or €10 taxi fare. The 10 oz. Dry-aged Irish prime Ribeye is the best cut of Irish-raised beef I’d had on the island. Additionally, they have a varied menu including chicken, duck, pork, and a selection of tasty starters as well.
Baan Thai Leopardstowne – P, Central Park, Carmanhall and Leopardstown, Dublin, D18 N2W6, Ireland http://www.baanthai.ie/ We often stay with our groups in the Leopardstowne suburbs of Dublin. When I think of the best Thai food, my mind wanders to Baan Thai. They have all the traditional selections served in a decorative dinner room.
THE IRISH HOUSE PARTY DINNER & TRAD SHOW – The Irish House Party The Lansdowne Hotel 27 Pembroke Road Dublin 4. https://www.theirishhouseparty.com/ For an evening of traditional music, dancing, stories, and good food to boot, try The Irish House Party at the Lansdowne Hotel. Show up at 18:30 and order your food off a three-course menu selection. Enjoy dinner and a fine music and dance show featuring excellent musicians.
AN EVENING OF FOOD, FOLKLORE, AND FAIRIES AT O’SHEA’S PUB 19 Talbot St, North City, Dublin 1, D01 FA49, Ireland https://irishfolktours.com/ Similar to the House Party mentioned above but here you’ll enjoy stories told by engaging and entertaining Irish folks with a passion for the old art of storytelling. Good food selected from a 3-course set menu with lots of choices.
More suggestions to come…
To truly understand a David McGuffin tour, you have to see it to believe it. This film documents the journey of four travelers on David’s “Taste of Ireland” tour. Filmed on location in Ireland, we hope it will give you a sample of just what to expect on a David McGuffin tour to Europe.
Since we cannot travel to Europe right now, I am bringing a bit of Europe to you. I yearn for the day when I can hop on a plane and fly to Europe, but, for now, I’ll have to settle for my memories. So, as much for me, as for you, I’ll share David’s Weekly Wanders in Europe.
This week, David’s Weekly Wanders in Europe features a video, David McGuffin Explores Volterra! It is the third of several episodes chronicling the experiences and adventures on David’s Best of Italy Tour route. Along with his producer, Abby, and their travel companions, David visits this charming Tuscan hilltown to learn about its history, sample wine, and dine in style.
Video is at the bottom of this page, but first, a little about Volterra.
Volterra is my favorite Tuscan hill town and the perfect place for a visit. Not too big, not too crowded, and certainly not loaded with tacky tourist shops; it is authentic in every way. It is a beautiful town surrounded by ancient fortifications, guarded by an impressive fortress, and perched high on a hill overlooking the fertile fields of western Tuscany. Visiting here tends to make you forget about touring and focus on settling into the laid-back lifestyle of the local folks.
It’s hard not to “go local” with a visit to the market or a stop at the neighborhood bar to knock down an espresso. Engage in conversation with the shopkeepers and get lost wandering the narrow, cobbled streets. On the town square, enjoy a crisp glass of wine at a café and then hang out for the late afternoon passeggiata where everyone gets out to visit. Finally, enjoy a tasty dining experience featuring some of the best restaurants in Tuscany. Embrace Volterra and experience la dolce vita!
Here it is mid-August, and I’ve not left the USA in eight months! For many, that is not uncommon, but Europe is my office, my job, and my livelihood. This Pandemic has affected everyone in the world in one way or another, but the hospitality, travel, and tourism industry has taken quite a blow. What was to be a record-breaking year for Exploring Europe came to a screeching halt on March 10, 2020. That’s when I contacted COVID-19, and shortly afterward, all travel shut down in and out of the USA.
Since mid-March, we have postponed, pushed back, rescheduled, or canceled almost every Exploring Europe tour scheduled for 2020. That’s terrible news for us and those who were looking forward to exploring Europe with us. The good news is that we are still in business and ready to show our friends around Europe when travel becomes possible again. I’ve given up trying to guess when that might be, but whether it is in one month or many, we will be ready!
Looking to the future
However, just because it is possible to travel to Europe without going into quarantine upon arrival, does not necessarily mean we will rush into it. A David McGuffin tour is a unique, interactive, and personal travel experience. One of the aspects that sets our tours apart is the opportunity to meet, interact, and become friends with locals living and working in our destinations. Our trips will not be the same if we have to adhere to rigid social distancing rules, wear masks 24/7, and worry about being infected by the Coronavirus.
On our tours, we love to spend time with our traveling guests experiencing the sights, museums, and attractions in a sensible fashion, and having some downtime to relax and enjoy the locale. Attempting these things from behind a mask or at six-feet intervals would invariably take some spontaneity and adventure away from the total travel experience. I’ve spent the last twenty years honing our travel and tour style to come up with the perfect combination of cultural immersion, history and art lessons, engaging experiences, and unstructured free time. I’ll not schedule any tour until these experiences are again possible, reasonable, and safe.
Check out our tours to Europe.
However, we are actively planning for that day when it is possible to hop on a plane, fly to Europe, and travel freely.
You can sign-up for any of our tours online, by mail, or by email, by completing an application and paying a fully refundable $25 deposit. No other investment is required until the final payment due date, which is about 45 days before departure.
Want to travel on your home turf?
Many of you have contacted me during this Pandemic, suggesting I begin offering tours in the USA. I appreciate your ideas and concern, but I’m getting too old to learn a new continent! However, if you have a hankering to travel on your home turf, I want to introduce you to MOLLY’S OLD SOUTH TOURS. Molly Verlin is a wonderful young lady who leads tours for me in Italy. Since there is no work in Italy this year, she’s taken her love for the South, and designed some wonderful travel experiences. On Molly’s tours, you’ll discover the hidden history, culture, hospitality, and down-home cooking of the American Southeast. Molly will guide you through the ancient Spanish city of St. Augustine, the pristine beaches of Georgia’s Golden Isles, the elegant squares and parks of Savannah’s historic district, and the unique history, and charm of Colonial Charleston. I hope you’ll have a look at her website and consider a tour closer to home!
October 4 – A walk around Trastevere – Earlier today, I took the Frecciarossa, the fast train, down from Milano to Rome. From Termini Station, I took a taxi to my B&B in the neighborhood of Trastevere. Le Clarisse e Trastevereis located just off the main drag (Viale Trastevere) in an old convent surrounded by a quiet courtyard filled with olive and lemon trees. Although the building is ancient, the rooms and public spaces are updated for the 21st Century traveler.
That evening, I struck out for a walk around Trastevere, the historic old neighborhood. The cobbled streets are narrow, and many are for pedestrians only, which makes wandering around easy and stress-free. Tonight, there was a festival celebration. October 4 is the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi. It marks the day in 1226, when the saint from Assisi, Umbria, died. Just by chance, I came upon the procession and joined in for a few blocks toward the church.
Later, I drifted towards the Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere, a vast outdoor square, with a fountain, bell tower, and church. The Basilica is old! The floor plan and walls date from the mid-4th Century, and practically everything else was renovated in the mid-12th Century, making it one of the oldest churches in Rome. Medieval mosaics dominated both the interior and exterior, with scenes from Christ’s and Mary’s life. But tonight, there was a festival happening in another part of the neighborhood. October 4 is the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi. It marks the day in 1226, when the saint from Assis, Umbria, died. Just by chance, I came upon the procession and joined in for a few blocks toward the church.
I don’t even remember the name of the pizza place I chose. I was working on instinct, and notice this place was packed with mostly Romans, not tourists. Families and groups of young people filled all the tables, and they all seemed to be enjoying their pizza and having a good time. I joined the queue at the door, and after about ten minutes, I got a table. A fast-talking/fast-moving waiter came by and dropped a menu on my table. I quickly ordered my drink before he ran away to help someone else. Sitting back and looking around, I noticed the patrons were enjoying watching the swift and gruff waiters hustling from one table to the other. A lot of action, but not too much service. A young guy at the next table leaned over saying, “We come here to drink and watch the waiters run around, if we get pizza, it is a bonus!”
Checking back in my journal, I found this entry, It is fun to note that even the local Romans are “entertained” by the fast-moving waiters and their super-slow service. If I were here with a group, this would be bad. But, for me tonight, it is entertainment.
Ultimately, I did get a pizza, and it was good. The pizza, mixed with the wine, ambiance, locale, and festive atmosphere, made for an enjoyable evening! You never know what you are going to come across when you wander.
Even though I did not get the name of the restaurant, I did make a sketch. Maybe next time I am in Rome, I’ll try to find this place again!
Scoula Italiano Pizzaoli – Molto Importante
It is important to note that the pizza makers here must have an education at the school for Italian pizza makers.
You have not heard from me for a while, but I wanted to write and let you know all is well with me, my family, and Exploring Europe. The last five months have been challenging for me personally and for Exploring Europe. All was going well until March 10, 2020. That was the day COVID-19 became a reality, in more ways than one. My wife and I, and several other family members, came down with the COVID-19 virus in early March (I blogged about it here). Fortunately, none of us had a severe case, although it did take a few weeks to get back to feeling normal.
As for Exploring Europe, we have canceled all our tours at least through November 2020. Early on, we had hoped this pandemic would be short-lived, and travel would get back to normal by the summer. After hundreds of cancellations, I now realize that “normal” is not going to be possible for some time. So, we hope and prepare for a new normal in 2021.
A David McGuffin tour is a unique, interactive, and personal travel experience. One of the aspects that sets our tours apart is the opportunity to meet, interact, and become friends with locals living and working in our destinations. Our trips would not be the same if we were placed under rigid travel and social distancing rules. On our tours, we love to spend time relaxing with our traveling guests, visiting with local friends over a glass of wine, exploring a shop, sampling olive oil, or just taking a stroll through town. Attempting these things from behind a mask or at six-feet intervals would invariably take some spontaneity and adventure away from the total travel experience. We have spent the last twenty years honing our travel and tour style to come up with, what we think, the perfect combination of cultural immersion, history and art lessons, engaging experiences, and unstructured free time. We will not depart on any tour until these types of experiences are again possible, reasonable, and safe for the foreseeable future.
Since we cannot travel to Europe right now, I hope to bring a bit of Europe to you in the coming weeks. During this pandemic, I’m writing several books, adding content to my website, and trying to keep on task with the business of Exploring Europe. I yearn for the day when I can hop on a plane and fly to Europe, but, for now, I’ll have to settle for my memories. So, as much for me, as for you, I am going to begin posting a blog series I’m calling David’s Weekly Wanders in Europe.
David’s Weekly Wanders in Europe will feature videos, articles, book excerpts, virtual tours, and live online events. David McGuffin Explores Rome! is the first of several episodes chronicling the experiences and adventures on David’s Best of Italy Tour route. Along with his producer, Abby, and their travel companions, David visits the significant sites in Italy’s capital city. I hope you’ll consider joining in by participating, making comments, and dreaming of your return to travel.
All the best,
Watch David McGuffin Explores Rome! Don’t forget to scroll down after the video and read about my adventure in Trastevere. I even included a sketch from my journal.
Watch 